On July 5, 2018 we walked into Spring Valley Hospital at 10 pm full of excitement and nervousness of not knowing whats to come. After getting checked in they “checked me” and I was only 1 cm and 30% effaced, I had been 1 cm for 3 weeks now so I wasn’t surprised that much had not changed. At 11pm they gave me medicine to start the induction process, we were already 40 weeks and 5 days at this point so we were definitely ready to meet our little man. During this time I was supposed to “rest,” and that definitely didn’t happen; my adrenaline was pumping and I couldn’t sleep knowing our lives were about to change forever.

At 3:30 am they came in to check me again, and see if I had progressed at all…I hadn’t. I had become “softer” but I was still at 1cm. The nurse could not give me the next dose of medicine because my contractions were coming on too frequently, she gave me some extra fluids via IV and had me drink a ton more water. My contractions slowed but I was still having too many within a 10 minute period to get the next dose. I was feeling discouraged as nothing had progressed, and we were just waiting on my body to react so we could continue inducing me.

At 6:10 am I was STILL at 1 cm, and he was in the -2 position, which means he was still high up and not ready to come. At 7 am, my doctor started pitocin, which strengthens and induces contractions. An hour later my doctor came to do her rounds, Matthew was out of the room grabbing breakfast and then my doctor decided to break my water, weirdest feeling ever! I texted him saying what happened during the brief 15 minutes he was gone and I don’t think he left again after that. At 9:20 they came in again and upped my pitocin, at this point contractions were getting real and I had to actively breathe through them. My nurses were amazing and at some point the pain was pretty strong but I wasn’t far enough along to get the epidural. They came in and gave me some pain medicine through my IV and I had some relief but more than anything it made me drowsy.

Finally, at 12:45 I heard the sweet words “are you ready for your epidural?” Throughout my pregnancy I was worried about the epidural because moving even a flinch can mess things up, but in that moment I knew I needed to pull through and not move a centimeter. The nurse had me practice not moving during a contraction and thankfully I could handle it, the epidural was done in minutes and I had two contractions during the process. At 1:30 pm my doctor checked me and I was almost at 7 cm, 80% effaced and at a “0” placement, which means everything was getting really close to happening. The nurses and doctors were a little worried because baby’s heart rate kept dipping during my contractions and I was bleeding a little more than they would have liked.

At 3:30 pm they checked and both myself and baby were doing great, but my contractions were becoming too spaced apart so they gave me another ½ dose of pitocin to hopefully keep things moving. Finally at 4:45 I was 9 cm and 90% effaced, and he was in a +1 position (he needs to be at a +3 position for delivery.) I noticed at this time that my left leg was completely numb but I could still feel my right side pretty well, move it/lift it/etc. Insert panic mode. I could feel my contractions and the pressure on my hip pretty strongly on my right side, but it was still bearable and I didn’t want to get more epidural if I was about to start pushing. At 5:30 I was “almost complete” and ready to start practice pushing to descend baby into the +3 position. This was so much harder than I could have ever anticipated. Pushing was so different than I ever thought. I pushed for a little awhile and then we rested for a little while because he just wasn’t moving down. The times get a little fuzzy at this point because I was in pain and in and out of it. Both of our families and friends were in the waiting room so they cycled in to say hello and check in on us, this helped the time pass by for another hour or two. Eventually the nurse walked in, checked me, and said “let’s start pushing.” Everyone but my mom and Matthew left and we got to business. My epidural still wasn’t strong and was starting to wear off in my left leg as well now. The anesthesiologist came in and changed my epidural from a drip system to a button system, aka push the button when you’re in pain. I continued pushing but the pain and pressure on my hips were becoming unbearable, we pushed the button…nothing. I had been pushing for over an hour and I could feel every contraction, so the anesthesiologist came back in again and messed with some things and I finally got a little relief, but not much. Throughout this time baby had moved down a little but barely, and with each push he was just pushing more pressure on my hips.

They called in my doctor around midnight, and my doctor told me our options. She first wanted us to try pushing for a little longer, then we could try the vacuum method or two other things (at this moment things were fuzzy because I just wanted him out.) She mentioned c-section was an option, and at this point I was totally fine with it because I was exhausted and in so much pain. The anesthesiologist came back in one more time, because again I could feel everything, and she pushed something straight into my epidural and I was instantly numb waist down. We pushed and then tried to use the vacuum but little man just wouldn’t move down, she tried through 2 different contractions and it just popped off both times.

She looked at us and just said “you are stable, and baby is stable but I think we need to do a c-section.” Through teary eyes I agreed, my doctor fights having to do a c-section with everything so I knew if she was suggesting it, it was truly the last resort. Within minutes everyone was pulling on scrubs, counting equipment, and I was being pushed into an OR. I was calm, and honestly not anxious or worried about anything I was just so ready to see who this baby.

Within 10 minutes I was hearing the sweet cries of our little man. I cried the most love-filled tears when I laid my eyes on his squishy little face.

Good Afternoon Friends! I have been an avid youtube watcher for a few years now and a few people that I follow have posted Vitacost hauls in the last few months. I have always been interested in ordering from Vitacost but haven’t bit the bullet. Yesterday (Sunday) in my casual internet perusing I decided to pop on over and see what it is all about. I got sucked in. Vitacost is an online market and their products are typically much cheaper than at the store. I worded it to Matthew as an online Whole Foods/Sprouts but cheaper.

I was so impressed by the selection, I wanted to overhaul some of our cleaning supplies into a more “green” approach. Sunday morning I purchased my items and by Monday they were already at my door step. A huge box was sitting there awaiting my arrival. I was in a bad mood and then boom! instant happy mood! Who else gets happy when they see a package from on online purchase at their door? just me? cool.

Want to be nosey and see what I got, well have no fear I took fancy pictures for you:

When Matthew and I first started dating we were iphone selfie wizards, snapping away at every big event or silly car drive we took. When we got engaged we only had a nine month engagement and we had hired Shalyn Nelson from Love, The Nelsons Photography and she is based out of Austin; so unfortunately engagement pictures were kind of out of the question with her. We never got around to taking some with any other photographer and before we knew it, it was wedding time. We are so in love with our wedding pictures and at some point I plan on blogging stuff from our wedding to showcase the amazing work Shalyn and her husband Drew captured. As we approached our one year anniversary I knew I wanted to take annual pictures to document our life as we transitioned from newlyweds, a few years together “husband and wife,” and EVENTUALLY mom and dad.

One day I am scrolling on Instagram, as everyone does, and I stumble upon some of the most beautiful images and instantly followed Jodi, from J.Anne Photography. I knew right away that she was the one for me, to take pictures of us I mean. I met her casually at a Layers of Lovely Floral Class and slightly fan girl’d. I almost scared her off, but thankfully she gave me a second chance to slow my roll and talk like a normal human being. We laughed and talked about some of our common interest, she made some jokes, and we exchanged instagram handles…I guess you could say it was serious. A few months went by and we finally scheduled pictures for our first anniversary, I was pumped to say the least. I signed the contract late at night while walking on the treadmill, again…I couldn’t wait!

The day came, I got my hair done by Amelia from Amelia & Co., I received a beautiful bouquet from Catherine at Layers of Lovely, and then the whole taking pictures thing happened. Jodi reassured me over and over about how great we looked, how gorgeous the pictures were turning out, and how fantastic we were. The true magic came through when she started sending me sneak peeks and then finally the full gallery, I will let the images speak for themselves:

Two fitness post in a row, watch out things are getting serious! I recently met the beautiful, Ashley from Balancing Chaos and I asked her some of her favorite workouts when you can’t get to the gym or you don’t have a gym membership. Ashley is “instagram famous” in my eyes in the Tone It Up & fitness community. She is a wife, a full-time working mom, and a blogger. We have some fun projects coming up and I am so excited for y’all to see them.

Ashley shared her knowledge with me, and man she knows a lot. Here is her favorite at home workout to get her heart rate up and tone all over when she can’t get to the gym:

Jumping Jacks (Warm Up)

You can’t get away from the jumping jack when you just need a good full body warm up. Complete 40 to 50 before completing the rest of the routine!

Standing Side Crunch

Stand with feet a little wider than hip distance apart and place your hands behind your head. Raise one leg while crunching towards the same side until your elbow and knee meet. Repeat 15 times before switching sides.

Double Burpees

The tried and true burpee multiplied! Perform two squats followed by two thrusters and move immediately into two pushups take a deep breath and perform two more thrusters followed by two squat jumps. Repeat 5 times up to 10.

Squat & Side Crunch

Perform a wide leg squat and place your hands behind your head. Lower your elbow to meet your knee and raise back up to the center, repeat on the other side. Complete 30 total reps, 15 on each side.

Side Plank Leg Extension

Start in plank position and roll to one side, slowly lift one leg hold for one breath. (Make sure to squeeze your core to help with balance) and lower. Repeat 15 times before switching sides.

Single Leg Vinyasa (Advanced)

Start in plank, lift one leg.

Exhale and move into a Chaturanga, inhale pull forward into an upward facing dog.

Exhale and roll back into a downward facing dog and return to the original plank position and switch legs. Repeat 10 times, 5 legs on each side.

Thank you Ashley, she shares some great inspiration over on her instagram and blog. Go check her out 🙂

We have several different workout studios here, in Vegas, that lend to different styles of working out. I have several friends that attend a studio called Trufusion, which offers cycle, pilates, barre, yoga, and SO many more options. Side Note: This is not sponsored, in any sort of way, I literally tried the class and said “I should blog this,” so here we are.

First off, thank you to my sweet friends that didn’t give up on inviting me. I said “maybe,” about 5 times before I finally bit the bullet and signed up for a class. I had a complimentary class pass, and signed up for hot barre with my friend. You read that right, HOT BARRE. So not only are you working your glutes and thighs to steel, but you’re sweating all over the damn place. Rushing out of work to make the class that started at five, I ran up the escalator (which gave me more of a cardio workout than I’d like to admit) and into the modern-stylized studio.

Changing into my “trendy” lululemon pants, tank top, and peeling off my socks and shoes, reluctantly, I couldn’t help but think “what am I getting myself into.” I walk into the hot room and instantly my breath is taken away, the room was only 90 degrees but that 40% humidity got me. (Vegas is dry. I don’t do humidity.) I take my seat and instantly take off my shirt, I was wearing a tank top and then a gym shirt on top, and I knew I was going to die wearing two shirts. The instructor starts welcoming everyone to the class and asks if anyone is new. I look around and raise my hand. He says “if you are shake-y that is great, if you are dizzy that is not. sit down and take in some breaths and you’ll be okay.” Instant regret.

After ten minutes of warming up and stretching out I was already sweating more than I anticipated, which scares me because I have fifty more minutes of this. We haven’t even really started. We start doing some barre moves, which takes me back to all of my dance classes throughout my life, and well if you don’t use that flexibility…you lose it. Kick. Tap. Kick. Tap. 5, 4, 3, 2, and now double time. Are you kidding me, this IS my double-time. I try not to look at myself in the mirror and how awkward I must look, like a baby deer finding it’s legs.

Grabbing onto the barre I realize how sweaty my palms have become and just hope to be able to have enough grip to hold my body as I’m tucking. Tucking is where you roll your hips forward, and engage your ab muscles. Think of Michael Jackson and his “ow” movement. My legs are shaking, which according to the instructor is good, but to me it means I am out of shape like no other. I listen to my body and take several water breaks and look around as I am the only one who has almost finished their water; rookie over here. I take a few deep breaths, I felt fine but just wanted to make sure I was still alive.

The class continues with tuck, and tuck, and tuck…now tuck, and squeeze, tuck, and squeeze. You’re squeezing this workout ball that is inbetween your legs, squatting while standing on your toes, all while leaning back and gripping the barre with your sweaty hands. You feel it all over, from your shoulders, to your calves. This is legit. We descend into what I assume is the cool down as there are only 10 minutes left. I’m wrong. Sweating, we move into some ab movements and I am just pumped to get to lay down for a few minutes, tap and tap and tap. The instructor says in his calm voice, “now take some deep breaths, inhale and exhale.” He is saying positive affirmations, but the sounds of the music and me breathing overtakes his voice. I am sure he was saying beautiful words, but I was just focusing on how I was feeling.

exhausted. accomplished. sweaty.

Putting away my weights, I get a taste of the air conditioner, and it feels refreshing. I meander around as I try to feel the cool air for just one more second. Back in the room I do the final stretches, say my goodbyes and glance into the mirror. I look like a tomato, red and glistening. I use a face wipe to cleanse my face, and then take a picture (for this post) but I will spare you from seeing my post-workout look. It is not cute. I survived the workout and I say (with much surprise,) that I will be back. I would recommend this class to anyone, the heat wasn’t too bad after you got used to it and the moves were relatively easy to follow– I felt very comfortable that no one was judging me, they all appeared to be worrying about their own sweaty selves.

Have you ever tried a trufusion class? a barre class? any workout class?

Matthew and I got engaged in June of 2014, which sounds like it was sooo long ago! We are coming up on our 2nd wedding anniversary, which sounds EVEN CRAZIER! I feel like I was just trying on wedding dresses, hot gluing greenery to everything, and glitter-bombing my save the dates (more on those later.) I did a lot of DIY items, and maybe one day I’ll share all that stuff but for today we are going to talk about something much more recent, my favorite Christmas present. Matthew is really good about remembering when I mention things that I want, and he is pretty good about keeping notes in his phone about that stuff…he really is the best husband. We had been talking about getting our vows on canvases and unfortunately the long-winded person that I am, my vows are MUCH longer than his. I was scared that it would look silly in comparison so I did the next best thing and suggested the ring exchange “vows.”

We wrote some of the components of our ceremony, and then our best guy friend filled in the rest and made it sooo much better! We knew we didn’t want to say some of the traditional stuff and really wanted it to be “us.” We decided on a passage that we had heard in a movie and added a bit here and there…it was (and still is) perfect. I, again, mentioned this to Matt– and he said he wanted to get it for me for Christmas but because he knows how picky I am he let me pick the artist and I fell in love with The Blushing Script after seeing her on some of my friends’ instagrams. I reached out to her and she was SO incredibly sweet and explained the process, I sent her what I wanted and within minutes I had the order ready to go for Matthew. She sent him the link and within a week or so her pretty packaged box was sitting at my doorstep! Unfortunately, I had to wait until Christmas to come but it was definitely worth it.

I am so obsessed with my canvas and it has already become one of my favorite things in our house, a reminder of our love and that we are in this together. Love will forever win, and we will overcome any challenges that are bound to come with this beautiful thing called life.

First off, you need Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook Cravings! She is naturally hilarious, she puts a spin on things that make you literally laugh out loud and you’re just thankful that she is the realest. Her wording makes you feel like it is okay to mess up, or change things out if you need too. Ideally, I want to “cook” through her book, now let’s not get crazy I won’t be making EVERY recipe, but I am going to try to make a few that speak to me. When I was looking through the book, I saw this recipe and thought “I have all of those things!!” which is hard to do with a lot of her recipes because I am as plain jane as it comes with food. If you know me, which some of you do, I love hashbrowns..they are my jam, my everything, so naturally my first recipe from her book has to be the Crispy Hashbrowns.

Sunday Comfy || Chrissy Teigen’s Crispy Hashbrowns

What you need:

8 oz. of grated potato (you don’t need to weigh it out, I did for you, basically it is one large potato.)

2 tbsp. of melted butter

2 tbsp. of olive oil

2 pieces of bacon chopped up

Kosher salt & pepper (she gave an exact amount but I just sprinkled for preference…we like salt in this house.)

Take a non-stick or cast-iron pan and heat it to medium-high heat. (her cookbook says when you place your hand ABOVE the pan and you feel a strong wave of heat, it is ready. DO NOT TOUCH THE PAN!) Grate your potato, pat dry (only once or twice-don’t get too crazy) so there isn’t a ton of liquid, then mix in chopped up bacon. Throw in a dash of pepper and salt and you’re good to go. Throw the potato/bacon mixture into the pan. Mix the oil and butter with a little more salt and pepper and pour 3 tablespoons over the potato mixture-do not mix with the potato’s just pour it over. After 4-5 minutes flip the potatoes when they are golden brown, pour remaining butter/oil mixture all over potatoes and wait for them to crisp up. Then, Boom! You’re done!

Review: These hashbrowns were absolutely amazing, I added some chopped green onions as a finisher. They were the crispiest hashbrowns I have ever had (at home.) I am sure it has to do with alllll of the butter and oil. worth it. I do not have a final picture because they did not photograph well. trust me.

What would I do differently: They were delicious, but they were a tad on the greasy side-next time I might consider cutting the oil down. Also, I used a smaller skillet so I want to use a larger skillet so that the hashbrowns are spread out more which might help with the grease factor.

I cannot wait to make these again for Matthew, and add a poached egg and some avocado on top. I am salivating just thinking about it! Let me know if you make it and what you think!

Happy Sunday after Thanksgiving, I hope y’all had a great holiday! We are blessed with lots of family all within the same town-so our holiday is spent transferring from one house to another, shuffling food, playing games, and laughing our butts off. We are lucky to say the least. I created these Christmas/Holiday Prints for y’all, if you post them please tag me @SundayComfy . I was so excited to make these, something simplistic and can go with any decor! I can’t wait to see what y’all do with them! Let me know which one is your favorite.

I am here to give you guys a printable that you can use for whenever or specifically for tomorrow! I made this a few weeks ago and thought I should share, sharing is caring! My favorite part of Thanksgiving is not the dessert, but the bread, the carbs. Give me all the dinner rolls, I need to find the best recipe, if you have one and want to share let me know!

I love all things wedding, from proposals to the actual wedding day…give it to me. I don’t often shoot bridal showers or events, but man after this one I am obsessed. Dilyana has been a friend of mine since our highschool days, I would say 10-11 years now, not to age us or anything. Dilyana has the most infectious smile, and she doesn’t need an ounce of makeup. Legit one of the most gorgeous girls I know. The day of her bridal shower I texted her asking if she had anyone taking pictures, she responded with a “No.” Well, I wasn’t having that. To be completely honest in a room full of people that I don’t know, I am more comfortable behind the camera; opposed to being that girl that’s like “oh hey, is that your drink? or mine?” nervous laughter.

As the guest started pouring in, all I could think was, “there is not one ugly person here. she has the most beautiful friends.” for real. We had mimosas, brunch food, and played lots of fun bridal shower games…like bra pong. google it. you’re welcome.